Dear Future Colleagues,

Hello! We're Justine, Ryan, and Boran, your chief residents for the 2025-2026 academic year, and we are excited to welcome you to the Medical College of Wisconsin Anesthesia Residency Program! Whether you're a medical student just discovering your passion for anesthesiology or already deep into your application journey, we're here to give you an inside look at what makes our program special.

What Sets Us Apart

The heart of our program lies in our people and our cases. You'll work alongside attendings who are not only brilliant clinicians but also genuinely invested in your growth. They'll challenge you in the best possible way—pushing you to think critically one moment and celebrating your successes the next. Our faculty create an environment where learning feels collaborative rather than intimidating, and where asking questions is not just welcomed but expected.

Our clinical training is robust and diverse. As residents here, you'll manage everything from routine outpatient procedures to innovative, complex cases. These will include major trauma cases, intricate neurosurgical procedures, high-risk obstetrics, complex pediatric surgeries, massive surgical oncology operations, and organ transplants. This breadth of experience means you'll graduate feeling confident to handle whatever comes your way, whether that's in academic medicine, private practice, or fellowship training.

The Resident Experience

What we love most about our program is the camaraderie among residents. We're not just colleagues—we're a tight-knit group that genuinely enjoys spending time together both in and out of the hospital. You'll find us grabbing coffee between cases, debriefing after challenging days, and yes, throwing some pretty great social events throughout the year. The resident lounge is our sanctuary where we share war stories, celebrate victories, and support each other through the inevitable tough moments.

The learning environment here is designed to set you up for success. Our didactic sessions are engaging, relevant, and ever improving; our simulation center is state-of-the-art; and our board preparation is thorough. We take pride in the fact that our graduates consistently match into competitive fellowship programs nationwide when they choose to subspecialize, which more than half of our residents do. For those that go onto private practice, we consistently hear about how well trained they are when leaving MCW.

Research and Professional Development

For those of you with academic interests, you'll find plenty of opportunities to explore research under the mentorship of faculty who are leaders in their fields. Whether your interests lie in clinical outcomes, basic science, medical education, or quality improvement, there's a place for you to contribute meaningfully to the field while building your CV.

Life Outside the Hospital

Let's be honest - residency is demanding, but that doesn't mean life stops. The Milwaukee metro area offers an incredible balance of urban amenities and outdoor recreation. The winters here are cold, but we experience all four seasons, with a culture that thrives with the warm weather. Regardless if you're into lakefront golf, volleyball, tennis, amazing riverside breweries and restaurants, or major league sports, there's something here for everyone. All of this and more can be enjoyed in a low cost of living area, while our program matches salaries at 75^th percentile of all residency programs. With all of this, many of our residents have discovered new hobbies and formed lasting friendships exploring everything our city has to offer.

Looking Forward

We want you to know that choosing a residency program is one of the biggest decisions you'll make in your career, and we don't take lightly the trust you'd place in us by ranking our program highly. Our goal is to train you to be not just a competent anesthesiologist, but an exceptional one who can adapt to any practice environment and contribute meaningfully to the field.

Our alumni network is strong and spans the country, which means wherever you end up practicing, you'll have connections and advocates who understand the caliber of training you've received. Whether you're heading to private practice, staying in academics, or pursuing fellowship training, you'll leave here well-prepared and well-supported.

We hope this gives you a genuine sense of what life is like as a resident in our program. The best part about interview season is getting to meet all of you and hearing about your journeys into anesthesiology. We're looking forward to those conversations and to potentially welcoming some of you as our newest colleagues!

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions—we're here to help make this process as smooth as possible.

Best of luck with your applications, and we can't wait to meet you!

Warmly,

Justine Huang, W. Ryan Suddarth, and Boran Katunaric

Chief Residents, Class of 2025-2026